‘Green’ Apartments in Ruaka.

Nairobi, March 5 – A local real estate development company has launched construction of modern apartments that embrace the green concept, to provide cheap housing maintenance to home owners.

County Developers Ltd, a company involved in construction of ultra modern apartments in Ruaka, called Runda View Apartments, has partnered with a wastewater equipment company, to provide a wastewater recycling technology, an initiative expected to drastically cut down on water costs. The apartment complex will also incorporate a solar water heating system to supplement electricity, in the housing development.

“Today’s home buyer is looking for a quality home, but is also keen on ways to cut costs in the household. These are elements we considered when designing Runda View Apartments, as our aim is provide comfort and convenience to middle income professionals looking to buy a home,” said George Wambugu the Chairman of County Developers Ltd. “We are happy to launch this new and innovative concept that will have a long term positive impact on the environment as well.”

The multi-million Runda View Apartment project located three kilometres from Runda estate in the outskirts of Nairobi, Kiambu County, has also embraced another modern concept of a ‘gated community’ which incorporates modern amenities like a swimming pool, fully equipped gym, CCTV cameras, children play area and excellent security, in the compound. It is expected to draw people from up-market residential areas with an attraction of affordable pricing, for the same high quality level of accommodation. The waste water recycling technology to be implemented is an innovative, self-contained and truly versatile system for treatment of wastewater, including nutrient removal; making the water suitable for re-use.

Assistant Minister for Housing Hon. Bishop Margaret Wanjiru, speaking when she led the ground breaking at the Ruaka site today said the use of environment friendly and cost-cutting technologies was the way to go for the industry, if investors are to attract more people to buy houses. “One of the key pillars in the government’s Vision 2030 is provision of adequate housing, and therefore this development by County Developers in Ruaka is a good example of how high quality developments will encourage home buyers to opt for the suburbs, thereby creating even distribution of quality housing in the city.”

Waste water recycling is estimated to save households 50 to 80 percent in water bills, while by using energy from solar users are able to reduce their electric bills by between 70 to 90 percent. Recycled water is used on activities like gardening and landscaping, car wash, toilets and other cleaning purposes. The green concept is being used the world over in modern developments to reduce the costs for households, and conserve the environment.

“Runda View development focuses at offering high quality housing with the same facilities enjoyed in up-market neighborhoods, but at an affordable cost,” said Mr Wambugu. He said their target are individuals currently living or working around areas such as Westlands, Parklands, Stima Plaza, Limuru Road, Thika Road and Gigiri. The houses are also attractive to Kenyans in the Diaspora who are very demanding on quality. Investors looking for buy-to-let opportunities have also helped to snap up Phase One of the project which is completely sold out.

The development of two and three-bedroom luxury apartments is located one kilometer past Ruaka Shopping Centre, on Limuru Road and is targeted at middle to upper income residents. The developer has also partnered with various mortgage providers to provide easy credit to buyers, including Development Bank of Kenya, Standard Chartered Bank, Co-operative Bank, CFC Stanbic Bank and Equity Bank.

While at least four routes connect Ruaka to the city centre, the Northern bypass which cuts through the area, once complete, will also add to its value, allowing residents to travel to Thika, Jomo Kenyatta Airport, Mombasa Road, Ruiru, Limuru among other diverse places in the city, conveniently, without the need to get into the city centre.